title: Findings of Devriesea agamarum associated infections in spiny-tailed lizards (Uromastyx sp.) in Croatia.
abstract: Actinobacteria are common agents that cause skin diseases in captive desert lizards, including the recently described Devriesea agamarum. To date, infections caused by D. agamarum, their symptoms, and treatment have been described only by the research group from Belgium that isolated the species in 2008. This article presents the symptoms that indicate the possibility of a D. agamarum-associated infection, such as scaly changes around the mouth in a juvenile lizard (Uromastyx ocelatta) and dermatitis in the form of skin scaling around the mouth and cloaca and over the dorsal part of the body in a group of four spiny-tailed lizards (Uromastyxgeyri). In two animals, swelling of the front limbs with the loss of some toes was also noted, a symptom not previously described with D. agamarum infections. Bacteriologic analysis of dermal lesion samples confirmed the presence of D. agamarum in all subjects. Treatment with ceftazidime was carried out, and the symptoms of dermatitis resolved, followed by negative bacteriologic findings. This is the first report, to our knowledge, that describes the diagnostics, detailed clinical picture with newly described symptoms, and treatment of lizards with D. agamarum-associated skin lesions that reside outside of Belgium. The results also confirm the effectiveness of the systemic administration of third-generation cephalosporin antibiotics in combination with local chlorhexidine in the treatment of D. agamarum infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Avian Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb 10000, Croatia. maja.lukac@vef.hr
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lukac
authors.forename: Danijela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Horvatek-Tomic
authors.forename: Estella
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Prukner-Radovcic
mesh_terms: D039903:Actinobacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000818:Animals; D017523:Croatia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008116:Lizards